FLASH!! World Record-Holder Dropped from Russian Team

By Karel Ik

MOSCOW, July 8. THE Russian Swimming Federation has decided to drop world record-holder Roman Sloudnov from the Russian team that will compete at the World Championships in Barcelona, SwimInfo has learned.

Sloudnov holds the world record for the 100 meter breaststroke at 59.94 and is the only man ever to break one minute for the event, having accomplished the feat twice.

The official reason for leaving Sloudnov in his hometown of Omsk, Siberia: He is not in good enough condition to compete in Barcelona.

After training at the Russian high-altitude camp in Donbai, Sloudnov seemed to become deconditioned. In April, he finished tenth at the Russian Swimming Championships in Moscow, recording only a 1:04.07 for the 100m breast. Since then, he has continued to swim far off his best times. So the decision was made to cut him from the World Championship team — a major disappointment for Russian swimming fans.